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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/30099795">Adopt</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/ibean/pseuds/ibean'>ibean</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>ATEEZ (Band)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Hybrid, Alternate Universe - Pet Store, Cat Hybrid Choi San, Cat Hybrid Park Seonghwa, Cuddling &amp; Snuggling, Hybrids, M/M, Not Beta Read, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Pet Adoption, Pet Store, Seongjoong undertones, Shy Choi San, Soft Choi San, Soft Jeong Yunho, caring yunho, future smut, semi rich yunho, strong man jongho, teeny talk about abuse, yunsan</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-03-17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-03-22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-20 14:08:39</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>9,784</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/30099795</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/ibean/pseuds/ibean</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Yunho has found himself in a dilemma in his work place. There’s currently an uncooperative cat hybrid that’s giving the Pet Shop some trouble and hoping that a change of scenery might help the hybrid, Hongjoong asks if the taller male could foster it for a while.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Choi San/Jeong Yunho</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>98</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Scratches</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This is my second AU ever and the 2nd AU for Yunsan,, I’m still not finished with the first but this idea popped into my head and I just couldn’t stop myself from starting! I’ll try to update this along with my previous more ^^! This is not beta read so grammar, typos and run on’s could be present! If there’s any questions feel free to ask and along with that I’m not too educated on hybrid so if anything is off please don’t roast me ;;</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>
    <span>italics: inner thought</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span><br/>Yunho has currently found himself in quite a big dilemma. He works in a pet shop that happens to also have hybrids and recently the shop had most of their pets adopted out meaning there were tons of extra space. This should’ve been a good thing because it meant all of the animals now had a loving family to go back to but that wasn’t the issue. The issue at hand was they got more hybrids taking the empty spaces now than usual. The store that sold pet appliances and adopted out animals could be called a hybrid center at this point. Why was it like this you ask dear reader? Well that was because Hongjoong, the owner of the center had a big heart and any pets or hybrids brought in, he would accept and take care of. But the larger issue at hand was one of the hybrids weren’t eating or doing anything. It laid to the side while the rest would often come out and play. Those who were comfortable enough would even take on their human forms. But the kitten just wouldn’t do anything. It was malnourished and worried Hongjoong like crazy. The young man had asked several of their employees to see if they could maybe foster the hybrid to see if it’ll do better in another environment. But none of them seemed to have the time or availability. Wooyoung’s home only allowed one hybrid and since he already owned one it wasn’t happening and Jongho’s apartment didn't even allow pets. This left Hongjoong and Yunho but the shorter of the two also had a hybrid that didn't always play well with the others.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>So the current dilemma, Yunho was the only one with an apartment that allowed pets/hybrids and had the room. Seeing the pleading eyes of his fellow friends and employer he agreed. At the very least he’ll get a raise out of this. So what’s his next issue you ask? Well, Yunho’s currently sitting in front of the black kittens' open cage with a pet carrier in front of him trying to get the small creature inside. The hybrid who had only one white ear however wasn’t one to listen. Instead though, his knuckles and fingers were covered in scratches and the black blob still wouldn’t inch any closer to the bag. It wasn’t like Yunho can lore it over with treats or anything because again, he didn't want to eat, he refused to eat. Sighing to himself the large man leaned back into his arms and chewed on his bottom lip. Up until now he had been using a light voice so as to not scare the small thing away but as that wasn’t working he had to try something else even though he didn't want to. Squeezing his palms together tightly he raised his voice not too much but enough to sound intimidating, “Come, right now.” He gritted his teeth at the horrible sounds that came out of his own lips. </span>
  <em>
    <span>He probably hates me even more now—</span>
  </em>
  <span> before Yunho’s thoughts even fully processed itself, he saw that the kitten was pawing itself towards the bag slowly with its tail fluffed. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Yunho was happy that the small creature had made its way into the carrier but mortified at the hairs sticking up from the cats tail and back. It was clearly scared and only did what it was told out of fear and nothing else. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Well this isn’t a good start…</span>
  </em>
  <span> The tall male tried reaching his hands into the bag to give the blob a pat on the head to let him know that he was proud of him but again received several scratches. Groaning to himself he zipped up the top of the carrier and peeked at the sides of the bag to make sure the kitten was doing fine but again like always, it found itself a corner and stayed there quietly. The man crossed the bag over his shoulders and walked to the front of their store but not before getting a chuckle from Wooyoung who pointed at the elders hands, “Feisty?” Yunho simply nodded and murmured out a “yeah…” At the front of the store he could see that Hongjoong was speaking to a customer and stood to the side waiting for them to finish paying. The customer was currently purchasing a couple chew toys and looking at the size of those, their pet must be large. Large enough to eat the kitten in the bag up. Yunho couldn’t help but worry about everything as he stood there staring at his boss. </span>
</p>
<p>Hongjoong had already packed up the customers' goods and wished them a nice day but Yunho was spaced out still standing there staring into empty space. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Yunho? Yunho!”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>At the repeated sound of the olders voice Yunho finally looked up with an ‘o’ shape on his mouth. The male made his way over to the counter and asked, “hey do you have a lot of bandaids?” Hongjoong cocked his eyebrows and trailed his eyes down to the larger males hands. The blond sighed sadly and rummaged through the front desk pulling out a small box containing bandaids and larger bandages. “I hope he’ll start eating… show me your hands.” Yunho knew that Hongjoong was worried before he had even spoken. The kitten arrived at their store 2 days ago and the minute it entered the shop Hongjoong would keep checking up on it. The boy had a large heart and just like Yunho his hands were also covered in scars. But unlike Yunho he had way more, the male was sure that they came from his countless attempts of feeding the small blob currently in his carrier right now. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Once the blond was finished bandaging Yunho up he gave the large pair of hands a firm squeeze, “let me know if you need anything else, Jongho should’ve packed everything into your car by now, don’t be afraid to call.” Hongjoong then knelt lower to be eye to eye with the bag hanging from the larger males shoulder and gently spoke, “I hope you open up… lets all be friends soon ok?” As expected the kitten gave no response and continued sticking to the corner of the carrier. Both men looked at each other in silence for sometime before Jongho walked back into the store, “hey I just finished putting the warming bed into the back of your car with the cat food and the other stuff. It’s hella cold outside by the way.” Out of them all, Jongho was usually their go to person to carry and move things and for that the staff were all really grateful. Yunho nodded at Hongjoong before he started for the front door, “Thank you Jongho, ohh and Hongjoong hyung, say hi to Seonghwa for me.” Jongho nodded to the thanks before returning to work and Hongjoong just chuckled, “Yeah yeah, he’d probably just ignore it cause he likes playing hard to get. You know cats.” The two had a small laugh and the tall male finally pushed the door that led him into the busy streets.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Their pet shop was actually quite famous in the city, it had great service and was good at making sure their animals were comfortable. Not only that but since the employees were far from average looking, tons of customers come in just to have a look at them. Not to mention that they also had a social media that they so often would post on and sometimes Hongjoong would mention how he was bringing Seonghwa into work. Ah those were the busy days. The grey cat hybrid always attracted a lot of attention to the shop which was great because the people who came just to look sometimes would leave with a small companion. </span>
</p>
<p>Once Yunho stepped into the loud streets he felt the harsh breeze hit him and the bag against his body shake a bit and took a peek inside, “hey what’s wrong? Ah crap you’re scared and cold, ok ok let me get my keys..—“ The kitten was shaking in the carrier probably due to the loud noises coming from the opened surroundings. Fumbling his hands into his pockets the raven hair man finally pulled out his car keys and got them both into the vehicle. Luckily he had gotten his driver's license because otherwise he would’ve had to take the bus and that would’ve been a noisy trip. He carefully buckled the carrier into the front seat and started to drive home. The journey is around 15 minutes if there wasn’t any traffic but because they were in the big city and their shop being in the busiest part of Seoul, traffic couldn’t be helped. The 15 minute trip was more of a 25 minute journey. Yunho wanted to build a bond with the kitten next to him so during the drive he would constantly try talking to it with small, “how are you”’s and other small talks. Within every small comment he chattered to the little creature he felt horrible at himself. He still couldn’t believed that he had raised his voice at such a fragile being.</p>
<p>
  <span>After parking his car Yunho decided to just take the kitten up to his apartment first before carrying the little guys' necessities up. He didn't want anything to hit the carrier bag and startle him. Yunho lived on the 20th floor of the high rise and was only able to afford it because of his parents. The couple had come into some money when they were younger from a relative's will and tried their best to help their son by paying more than half of his rent so for that Yunho is forever grateful. When the “Ding!” Of the elevator rang, Yunho cautiously reminded, “hey the elevator goes up kinda quickly so your ears might pop ok?” The doors slide open and allow the male to enter. Once in Yunho thought to himself, </span>
  <em>
    <span>Where is he gonna stay… He probably won't want to be in some open space… Kitchen? Nah… my closet?</span>
  </em>
  <span> Yunho felt his ear pop and swallowed hard to release some air pressure and just then the elevator doors slid open once more with a female automated voice ringing, “20th floor”.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The halls of the building were brightly lit and always smelled like it's just been deep cleaned which the raven hair male really liked. He was known to his staff friends as the cleanest person, constantly cleaning after the others mess and actually enjoyed washing all the animals in the facility but of course most of the hybrids would wash themselves, those who weren’t shy to change into their human forms of course used the large shower while those who didn't change would use the smaller washing areas opened to the actual pets. The kitten in the bag of his right now however never actually showered itself or allowed anyone to shower it. Within the two days Jongho had managed to wipe the small blob clean with a warm damp towel 3 times before it ran off back into its little corner. Yunho continued down the long hallway and rummaged through his pockets for the keys. Once his skin had hit metal he quickly pulled it out and opened his door. He had left the heater on in the morning and forgot to turn it off and that might have been his best decision of the day. This way the kitten would warm up. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Ok.” Yunho hummed as he walked into his apartment. “I’ll show you around ok? I know you don’t really like me and I was being a jerk earlier but I swear I won't hurt you ok? If you like a room just let me know and we can start from there… Also I’ve never had a cat before so you can always hit me if I do something wrong, maybe not scratching though…” One by one the tall man walked into each of his rooms showing the cat everything and letting it know that there wasn’t any danger around. “And lastlyyyyy, my bedroom. It leads to my own bathroom and a closet where I keep my clothing.” The carrier that was previously hanging to his side was now hugged around his arms, steadily he walked over to his bathroom and turned on the lights and showed every corner of the room. The kitten still had no interest in the open space and Yunho was beginning to lose hope. However when they reached the small closet which was more confined and had small crevices caused by Yunho’s boxes and clothing the kitten shuffled around. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Feeling the movement in his arms, Yunho quickly nodded and pulled open the unzipped part of the carrier that he had opened once he got into the apartment. The kitten darted out right away and looked around for an area to hide. Yunho felt horrible about this because what has this hybrid been through that it felt the need to hide? Seeing that it made its way to the corner of his closet Yunho pulled a few soft sweaters of his that were hanging up and surrounded the fragile creature, “This would be a bit warmer and comfortable to sit on, I’ll go downstairs to get your stuff ok? Do you want me to close the closet door?” The hybrid unexpectedly shook its head, Yunho was shocked because this was the first time he felt acknowledged by the creature. With that he felt adrenaline rush through his body and not knowing reached his hand to pat the blob. Though just like earlier, his actions had only garnered him a fresh wound on his knuckles. Sighing Yunho got up and began to leave his room for the front door and for the first time heard a “meow.” It came out slowly and froze the male in his track forcing him to look back. The cat had made its way to the entrance of his closet and looked at him sadly. Yunho didn’t know what that meant but seeing the way the cat stood there he perceived it as sadness, “Hey what’s wrong? I’m not leaving you, I’m just getting your things… we'll be together for sometime the two of us…” Not wanting to be scratched again Yunho only went up to the cat and knelt down to look at it for a bit before giving it a nod and leaving his apartment. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span><br/>Once downstairs Yunho had a large smile on his face, he never knew that hearing a cat's small mew would make him this happy because whenever he heard Seonghwa he just felt indifferent. Come to think of it, when Seonghwa is in his gray cat form the male was not that different in size with the black cat he had sitting in his closet right now… </span>
  <em>
    <span>hmmm maybe he’ll be around that size as well… ah whatever he’s probably not going to even shift forms… what did they say? Didn’t his previous owner say something about him not changing at all? Oh well…</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Yunho made 3 trips up and down his apartment and with the last trip finished he pulled the self warming cat bed into his bedroom and left it in the doorway between his closet. This way the kitten can maybe start getting used to more than just the closet. “Ah crap I forgot to ask for your name earlier…” Yunho hurried to the living room where he had placed his phone and instead of dialing the shop's number he just called Hongjoong’s personal number. The phone didn’t ring long and the blond picked up, “hello, something wrong?” The taller of the two sat himself down onto the living room couch and mumbled, “no not really, I called because I never got his name? And he also meowed once.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Hongjoong was silent on the other end of the call for a couple of seconds before replying, “actually. He uh.. doesn’t seem to answer to his previous name and even got angry when I said it so… you should probably give him another?” Yunho processed this and walked towards his bedroom and peeked in to see the kitten kneading the cat bed and smiled, “yeah sure… well i'll hang up then.” After a while the raven hair male went into the kitchen and tried making something for the creature to eat. He opened a can of cat food and spooned the wet meat into the cat bowl, </span>
  <em>
    <span>hybrids need human food too to be fully healthy… but he needs to change forms to eat them…</span>
  </em>
  <span> Yunho himself wasn’t feeling extremely hungry so opened his refrigerator to see if he had any fruits and he had some strawberries that his mother sent over a couple of days ago and brought it with the cat food into his room. He thought that the hybrid might feel lonely eating alone so he might as well sit with it and eat together with it. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Right as Yunho fully got into the room, the kitten dashed from the cat bed back into the closet and so the raven hair male walked into the confined room. The cat was yet again in the small corner it was at before and so Yunho sat in front of it gently placing the dish of wet cat food down. “Here.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The cat had no interest in the food in front of him and this was bad because of how small it already was. The previous owner of the hybrid had also complained about it refusing to eat sometimes but now it seems like it's refusing to eat all the time. “Hey come on, you need to eat to become strong and big like me…” what he said was half joking but the eating part was serious. The man groaned quietly and popped a strawberry into his mouth before thinking again, </span>
  <em>
    <span>I don’t want to force feed him… </span>
  </em>
  <span>as he was in thought, the kitten pawed its way over to the plate of fruit in Yunho’s lap and started to sniff it while its pupils expanded.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The large figure gasped and immediately asked, “this? Do you want this???” He picked up the red fruit and lowered it to the kitten and for the first time it bit into the fruit and started to eat. Excitement would be the wrong word to describe how he felt right now, he felt like he was on top of the world. </span>
  <em>
    <span>On top of the world… high up… mountains?</span>
  </em>
  <span> “San… hmmm…. hey, how does San sound? It’s a pretty name you know?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The kitten whose mouth was completely wet from the fruit looked up at Yunho but didn’t say anything so he just took that as a yes. “Alright then San, you’ll have to eat some of your food and I’ll give you more of this ok? You’ll have to try,” the taller pointed at the bowl next to the small creature and it complied. Taking a few mouthfuls before returning back to Yunho for what’s on the males plate and like he promised he picked up a strawberry and removed the leaves for the small blob. “Hey if we are gonna live together you can’t keep scratching me ok?” San squinted his eyes before biting into the fruit in Yunho’s hands. Taking this opportunity he slowly caressed the cats back, unlike all the times before San just stayed still eating and allowing him to pat him. Yunho would call that a win for himself.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Scent</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>This dragged on a bit longer than I expected,,, I hope to make some progress next chapter! Again I didn’t reread so there can be typos, grammar and spelling mistakes ;;</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>The weekends had passed and Yunho had not made much headway since the first day San had arrived home with him. Sure it was now eating, with the bribery of fruits of course, and no longer scratching him but it still wasn’t a huge fan of personal contact. Whenever Yunho would try petting him, San would move away or give a small mew. Also the tall male had even made a list so that he wouldn’t upset the cat, currently it was a Monday morning and he was getting ready for work but because of what happened yesterday he pulled out his small list and scribbled, “extreme hate for belly rubs.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Yunho stood up from his kitchen table and stretched groaning at the sounds of his bones cracking. San was still taking shelter in his closet and he was wondering if the small blob had awoken yet. He tiptoed back to his room and looked at the cat bed between the door frame of the closet and smiled. He hadn’t woken up yet. The raven haired male stepped over the cat bed cautiously as to not crush San while he was on his mission to find clothes to wear. Today seemed to be especially cold so he picked out a thick pair of sweatpants and accidentally knocked one of his metal hangers onto another creating a loud “clunking” sound. This had startled the kitten awake and Yunho mentally cursed at himself for this. He knelt down apologetically and whispered,  “I’m sorry for waking you… I have to get ready for work so I can’t stay with you for a while, I’ll be back at 4:30pm.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He got back up on his feet and started rummaging through his clothes again searching for a thick sweater of some sort. Not satisfied with what he had in his hands currently Yunho muttered under his breath, “where is that one sweater… Oh!” He had completely forgotten that on the first day san arrived he had used the thick piece of clothing to keep the small frame warm while it hid in the corner. Trailing his eyes around he spots the piece of white fabric and quickly picks it up. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Perfect.</span>
  </em>
  <span> Just about done with his outfit of the day Yunho hears another mew coming from San who was holding himself up using Yunho's legs. The tiny body looked like it was about to climb his legs but stayed there. Since the male obviously didn’t speak cat, over the weekends he had only been able to guess what San was saying every time he mewed. So like the previous times he started listing off what he thinks the blob was saying, “Uh you don’t want me to go to work because you love me?” No response. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Ok that’s not right.</span>
  </em>
  <span> “Um… you’re hungry?” Again no response. Yunho might’ve listed 15 or more things and finally asked, “You want the sweater?” Finally San gave a “Meow” as a response and Yunho chuckled, “ok then I won’t take it, here I’ll put it on your bed.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Placing it down neatly onto the self warming bed by the doorframe, Yunho sees that there were some short black hairs sticking to his sweater and smiled, “This must be comfortable huh? Alright all done, it’s all yours.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Ok so what do I wear now… hmm.</span>
  </em>
  <span> Yunho again scoured through his closet and ended up with a black hoodie, a simple outfit for a cold Monday. He speedily changed in the bathroom and glanced down at his phone, “7:20am… ok let’s see… Hey San I’ll put out your cat food near your bed ok? And uh portion it out if you could please? Also I’ll leave out some fruit but don’t just eat those please.” Yunho was currently in a rush because he never had to take care of someone else before he left for work and all this responsibility made him feel like a parent. Was this how his parents felt everytime they left him home alone? Who knows? </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>After packing his keys and phone into his winter jacket Yunho ran to the front door and shoved his foot into his shoes, “San I’m heading out, don’t turn on the stove and if you use the bathroom remember to close the faucet and uh don’t make a mess, there's other food items in the fridge if you turn human and uh watch TV or something if you’re bored, ok I got to go.” All of that was probably said in one breath loud enough for San to hear in the other room but the kitten had made its way out to the living room where it had a clear view of the front door. While Yunho opened the door and was ready to leave he heard a small mew from the creature, what might have just been a random sound San had made translated to a “bye” to Yunho. With a smile on his face the tall male left his apartment in high spirits. From the elevator all the way through his whole drive, all he could think about was telling his friends of San and how cute he was.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Just as Yunho pushed open the front door of the pet store, the jingle of the cat charm hanging above the large slab of glass rang nicely. Hongjoong who had himself stationed near the cashier was currently being bombarded with questions from a female “customer”, though they knew she wouldn’t make a purchase and was only there to flirt with the blond. But it seemed like once the loud noise had captured the customers attention she had darted straight for Yunho. The girl couldn’t be any taller than 5feet 3 so when she darted for Yunho it squeezed a small chuckle out of him since she looked like a mouse running for a pillar of cheese. She stood excitedly in front of the raven hair cheeks blossoming and asked, “Oh my god can I please have a picture with you? I promise I’ll promote you guys’ shop! I’m pretty popular on instagram! I’m sure tons of people will come!” Yunho wanted to scoff at this because their shop didn’t need any more customers, they weren’t struggling and were far from needing any internet attention. Trailing his eyes behind her he could see Hongjoong nodding and waving his hands, letting him know that she’d leave once he agreed to her request. So, bowing his back a little and positioning himself next to the girl, Yunho smiled at the open camera and furrowed his brows before straightening them again. Once her phone clicked she happily thanked the two and like they had guessed, without buying anything left. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Yunho walked over to Hongjoong and sighed, “That was one hell of a filter she had on her phone, I didn’t even look like myself… well no wonder she said she had some internet fame, anyways did she make you take a picture too?” This wasn’t a rare occurrence and because most of these “customers” would come during early mornings on their way to work or in the afternoons when they were off, the blond had to deal with most of them. The shorter of the two nodded but then immediately jumped excitedly, “Oh right! So how is he?” He was referring to San and Yunho could barely keep it in because he felt proud of the small blob, almost like a parent bragging about the bare minimum of their kids success, he started, “Well ookkk.” He sucked in a deep breath and brushed his hands through his fringe and looked around the store. Obviously he was doing this on purpose and the blond wasn’t having any of it, stomping his foot down Hongjoong rolled his eyes, “WELL?” Satisfied with the olders response, he took it seriously and continued, “When we got home on Friday I showed him around my apartment since I wanted him to get used to the place, he didn’t favor any of them besides my closet, probably because it was cramped and small. He might’ve felt that it was the safest part of my home. I let him out and he just hid in the corner all cute, I also put my sweater around him to keep him warm and—“ Hongjoong furrowed his brows and sighed, “I mean like the important stuff— not you putting a sweater around him. Things like if he ate, if he is sleeping or um… his name?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The taller made an “o” shape with his mouth and huffed, “I’ll have you know all of those things were really interesting, anyways he’s eating only with the bribery of fruits, I’m beginning to think he isn’t a big fan of cat food… and yeah I named him San, he ignores me most of the time so I’m not sure if he even knows that that’s his name. As for sleeping he’s sleeping in the bed you suggested, also weird facts that I’ve learnt over the weekends are, he prefers strawberries over grapes, he meows around 5 times a day, he knows how to nod and shake his head, he absolutely despises belly rubs and he likes my sweater!” Hongjoong was actually surprised when Yunho mentioned the cat disliking cat food because the brand and type of wet food Hongjoong asked Jongho to place in the tallers care was one of the best in flavor and quality according to Seonghwa. The blond had seen many feline hybrids in his not so long career but was almost sure every single one of them absolutely loved the wet food Yunho was feeding San. Hongjoong crossed his arms and hummed, “You know, it’s fine for him to eat fruits and all, but too much isn’t good for him if he is in his cat form… If he dislikes cat food then it’s best for him to shift to his human form. Also how personal contact beside the belly rubbing stuff?” Pulling out his hands from his coat pocket, Yunho showed the smaller his knuckles and muttered, “well at first he didn’t even allow me to pet his head but now I can caress him and stuff but belly rubs are a no no, just look at what he did to my poor hands yesterday.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Yunho’s hands had a couple of colorful bandaids plastered all over them, courtesy of his mother. The last time she came over was a week ago and whenever she visited she’d always bring things like food, first aid kits and medicine. Yunho would definitely admit to being a mommy child. As he continued to show off his hands to Hongjoong, the front door rang again and a red hair male walked in, Jongho almost always came into work after the raven haired and today he looked as lifeless as ever. Jongho was the youngest in the pet store and to everyone that had worked there till now, they all knew he hated Monday’s. The kid would spend his full weekend gaming till Monday morning and comes to work grumpily with a bag filled with energy drinks. The two who were at the front desk scoffed at this before returning to their jobs. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The first thing on the tall pillars list today was to feed all of the cats and let all the hybrids out of their cages so they could get some exercise as Hongjoong already fed them before he arrived. Normal animals had their own small room in the back to play around in when it was their play time but hybrids had a large room where they’re allowed out the whole day until they close up for the night. Agencies and owners of hybrids all know that they’re different from normal animals and require a lot more space and should never be confined for too long.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Quickly the male took off his large winter coat and hung it in his closet before exiting the staff room. He could already hear the impatient bodies inside the cages mew or bark at him. Swiftly he turned a corner and went into the large room where all the hybrids were held and unlocked each sleeping area, “Ok guys, like I said everyday, if you change forms, go into the locker and get a change of clothes ok? No walking around naked! And please no fighting over toys like last time, you guys can each take turns.” Even though they only had 8 hybrids currently, whenever they’d fight over things, the noise gets really loud and everyone could hear them from the front of the shop. It was never crowded in the room the creatures played in because not all of them would shift at the same time. Now that he was done here, Yunho made his way to the room where the 4 cats they had were held and he smiled as they mewed at him excitedly. The taller was known to be a dog lover and never had much of an interest in cats but since San had arrived at his home he found himself constantly doing research on the small animal in front of him. “Ok, give me a second, I’ll get you guys’ bowls ready.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The cats they had in the shop were practically the opposite of the one that’s currently taking over his closet. They were friendly and were more than happy to get attention from the taller. One by one Yunho lifted the small bodies from their little cubicles onto the soft ground. He sat in front of the four and made sure no one was stealing food from another. He hummed to himself and could hear Jongho struggling in the room next to his, if he wasn’t mistaken, from the sounds he’s hearing, the younger was currently feeding the dogs. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>In a flash all the kittens were finished with their food and were licking each other’s bowls. Subconsciously Yunho dragged his palms and caressed one of the black blobs in front of him and mumbled, “If only San was friendly like you buds…” As he did this, the other three started to climb all over him meowing, wanting attention from the raven haired. Gently Yunho rubbed each of their heads and gave them all small belly rubs. This made him unexpectedly happy and was actually the first time he even bothered playing with the cats. On the usual days, he’d come and feed the four, let them play in the fenced portion of the room for a few hours before having them go back to their cubicles. He was someone who sat down with the dogs and did what he was currently doing with the cats so it came as a surprise when Jongho peeked in to see what was taking so long. “Hey hyung you sure have a lot of time on your hands, can you help me over here? These three really don’t like me.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The day passed with no complications and Wooyoung eventually came to take his shift at 12:00pm. The four of them worked harmoniously together while trying to please those that came in just to chat. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Looking at the time, Yunho gave a heads up to Hongjoong letting the older know that he’d be taking off.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Pushing open the glass door of their front door, the charm again jingled clearly which always raised Yunho’s spirits but today in particular made him feel even better. The sound told him that work was over and he could be home to his newly fostered cat. Seeing those kittens in the shop really made him miss the one he had at home which is weird because they hadn’t even been separated for that long. On his whole drive home he felt impatient and the excitement of getting home began translating over to being worried. This was the first time San had stayed at his apartment by himself for a whole day. What if something happened? Worst yet what if San ran away? </span>
  <em>
    <span>Oh crap I didn’t tell him to not leave the house! </span>
  </em>
  <span>Constantly checking the traffic lights and checking the time. To be honestly at the speed he was going it wouldn’t be shocking if he got a ticket for speeding but since he wanted to get home quick he wasn’t dumb enough to get stopped by some cops. Right after he parked his car, he instantly jumped out and locked the door and sped into his apartment building. The person at the front desk was barely able to greet him as he ran past him straight for the elevators.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The elevator couldn't go up any faster and when the doors drifted open, Yunho quickly walked out and darted for his apartment. Calming himself, he reached his cold hands into his pockets and pulled out the metal keys, jingling rhymelessly he twisted into his keyhole. Flinging open his door quickly, the male walked in and pulled off his shoes randomly allowing them to land wherever they pleased. Right away Yunho walked into his room ready to yell out San’s name but immediately halted when he saw the tiny blob sleeping in its own bed curled up in the males sweater. Letting out a quiet sigh, Yunho tiptoed close to the kitten and knelt down, pulling out his phone and was ready to take some photos. Positioning his camera at every angle possible he took photo after photo. Finally being satisfied with the countless amount of storage that was taken up he had taken, Yunho looked around the room and saw that San had eaten all of his food and probably jumped around in his bed because the comforter was all over the place and the kittens little hairs littered around the white bed. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Standing up from his kneeling position, Yunho immediately felt the numbness of his legs and silently limped his way to his bed. He sat there for a few minutes admiring how peaceful San was before remaking his bed and taking the kittens food bowls out. Taking the opportunity, Yunho straightened out his shoes that he randomly left in front of his door and placed San’s bowls into his large kitchen sink. Plopping himself down onto his living room couch the male went to his messages and found his mothers contact. He was close to his parents but at the end of the day he was closest to his mom, this however didn't mean that he had no relationship with his dad, it was just that he was always busy and working so most of the time, Yunho found himself talking to his mom. Looking through his camera roll, Yunho selected a couple (a lot) of photos of his newly fostered companion and added a message, “This is San, I’ll be fostering him for a while! Is he cute?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It only took her a couple of minutes to reply to him and as expected, his mom adored the small blob and even replied with a sweet message, “ah so that’s Sannie! How cute, I should come by sometime to meet him~”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They continued to message for a while before his mother had to go. The raven haired male returned back to his room and again knelt by the kitten. San was still in the same position he had been at earlier so as gently as he could, Yunho lowered his hand and gave the small head a light caress. Unbeknownst to him however, the slightest of touch had awoken the small creature and again the male was extremely apologetic, “Ah I’m sorry, you were so cute I couldn’t resist…” San though wasn’t afraid of the touch this time, he drowsily yawned and just looked at Yunho before pawing his way over to him and climbing his legs that were now crossed. The small body began to sniff around and after a few minutes hopped off of Yunho and let out an angry mew. He patted his way deep into the closet and went to the corner facing the wall. Yunho too followed San in and chuckled at the scene in front of him. The kitten who was facing the corner of his closet now looked very much like the “I’m angy” meme.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It might've been insensitive of Yunho but he had to use a lot of his self control to not take a photo of what’s happening in front of him, so instead he cooed, “What’s wrong San? Do I smell bad? I’m pretty sure we cleaned the kittens up pretty well though…” Then suddenly a smug face overtook his confused one as it hit him, “Hey Sannie, are you perhaps… I don’t know… jealous?”</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Jealous angy : D</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Fruit</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Sflkjlkdjf,,,, I’m sure this is filled with hella typos and grammar mistakes;; but heh</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Yunho is currently bagging a large dog bed for a customer and was processing what happened yesterday. He had arrived home to a sleeping San and because the taller man couldn't keep his hands to himself he petted the kittens head. Said kitten climbed over to greet(?) him and smelt other cats' presence then got jealous. Being unable to communicate with San was difficult but having to try and get close to an angry hybrid was something completely different. At least he sometimes looked at Yunho when he spoke to him but now that San was angry and facing the corner of his closet walls, the taller male couldn’t even bribe him out of the room. All he could think of was showering and change into something new so he could get the smell off of himself. Ruffling through his own hair the male straightened his back and got out of the closet, “Alright then I’ll shower ok? That way I won’t smell like them anymore so let’s stop sulking.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He had always known cats to be territorial but the kittens at their shop never acted this way before, probably due to them always being together and being so used to each other’s scent while San had never been with other cats before. His previous owner had mentioned how he was their only pet so it made sense that the cat wasn’t used to the four additional smells that tracked its way into his only safe haven. Yunho got into his bathroom and pulled his shirt off and gave it a deep sniff, all he smelt was his own cologne, no trace of any cats. Of course this was to be expected as he wasn’t a cat nor hybrid. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>When he had gotten out of the shower with his bathrobe wrapped around his body and hair dripping wet, Yunho again walked over to where the sulking blob sat and hummed, “hey come, I don’t smell like them anymore, ah doesn’t this sound like I’ve been cheating and am confessing hah.” Conveniently since he was in the closet, he grabbed some clothes and slipped into them before trying another hand at consoling San. “Here, you can try and smell me again.” Yunho made his way to the corner of the small room and only thought to give the creature a pat of the head but ended up scooping San up as a whole with just one hand. Surprisingly the kitten didn’t attack the males hands but instead just sulked in his palms. Yunho pulled San closer to his chest and gave him a tight squeeze, “I’m sorry, can we make up? The kittens were from work so you don’t have to worry.” The raven haired male had made his way to his bed and sat himself down by now and finally San poked his head up and looked Yunho in the eyes. Still sulking the small blob lets out a sad mew.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Yunho. Yunho, you there? Earth to Yunho!” Hongjoong was standing in front of the counter and the customer from prior had already left. The blond waved his hands in front of the younger's face and voiced, “Are you good?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Finally Yunho snapped out of his day dreaming and queried, “Is Seonghwa ever jealous when you smell like other cats?” Hongjoong cocked his brows and seemed to be in deep thought before replying, “No, at least he doesn’t show it, why?” The taller groaned and shuffled through his hair, “Well I went home yesterday and woke him up, I was happy that he got comfortable enough to climb onto me but after he sniffed me he got upset and just sulked…” the shorter was now wiping the front desk and hummed, “maybe he was scared that he might be replaced, oh speaking of San. When you leave today, remind me to give you some medicine for him, you know since ruts and heats are different between hybrids and regular animals.” Yunho nodded and stretched, “Seonghwa takes them too?” Unlike how eager Hongjoong was to answer the previous questions, the current one had him go quiet. Yunho stood there patiently waiting for a reply but suddenly his phone rang, “Oh my mom’s calling, I’m gonna go to the back and take this.” The older man, who had cold sweat covering his forehead happily nodded and took over Yunho’s spot. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hello mom?” Yunho sat himself down near onto the couch in their staff room and Mrs.Jeong answered, “Hey honey! I was near your apartment today with a friend who just came back from Japan, she gave me some peaches so I’m bringing it up to your place, is that ok?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Yunho perked up at this and happily answered, “Yeah of course, oh but be careful about San, he might get scared after seeing someone new.” His mother hummed at this and the tall male heard the familiar “Ding!” Of his apartment elevator and the digital female voice informing the passengers, “twentieth floor.” Yunho patiently waited on the other side of the car and heard the jingles of her keys. Mrs.Jeong on the phone chuckled as she entered his apartment, “As neat as ever I see, is your kitten in your room?” The pillar made himself on the couch and nodded, “Well he should be napping in his little bed near the closet so you can say that.” With the fruits still on her person still, Mrs.Jeong went into the livingroom and dropped the bag of fruits lightly onto the nicely polished wooden table before taking light steps towards her son's bedroom. Once taking a peek in, she quietly gasped and whispered into the phone, “Oh wow, he’s adorable…!” Yunho didn’t know why but hearing the compliments of San made him feel really proud, similar to when your child gets praised by others. Happy that his mother liked San he continued on, “Of course! How is he? Is he asleep? When I got home yesterday he was sleeping in his little bed.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Ah he’s sleeping in your bed, I wanna take a closer look but I’m afraid he might wake up… But he is super cute…! The little streak of his hair looks just like the white ear from those photos you sent~” Yunho who was previously chilling and leaning back onto the couch hand now jumped up onto his feet, “m-mom, is he a cat right now…?” His mother had gone back to the living room and sat down on the couch so as to not wake San and replied unknowingly, “no honey, he’s in human form and curled up in all that comforter, let me tell you, he sleeps just like you when you were younger… hey why do you sound so panicked?” Well obviously Yunho was sounding panicked because the tall pillar was currently running out of the pet store with half of his winter coat on and dashing for his car. It was almost 2pm so Wooyoung, Jongho and Hongjoong were all in the store. So they had all seen the male sprinting out. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The male rummaged through his pockets quickly and almost shouted into his phone, “T-TELL ME HOW HE LOOKS! DON’T WAKE HIM… I’M ON MY WAY HOME, MOM PLEASE TAKE A PHOTO OF HIM!” Mrs.Jeong had to push the phone away from her ears since the volume of her phone had already been quite high to begin with. She tried calming her son and cooed, “Well I can’t make promises about not waking him and the photo but I didn’t get too good of a look. I’d say he’s kind of small in frame base of the silhouette the comforter made. I could only see the profile of his face. His hair is a bit curly with the white streak going down, high cheekbones and soft eyes.” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Just like yesterday, Yunho was zooming through the streets while he listened to his mother’s description on how San looked. He was getting excited and maybe even a little nervous. He didn’t know what to expect but he suddenly heard his mother gasp and then heard, “ah I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you… I’m Yunho’s mother… Ah honey I’m sorry it looks like he’s woken up.” The taller who was previously excited was now even more panicked, trying to get home before San changes back. His mother’s call had suddenly ended and he was too busy driving to even call back. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Finally when he had parked his car, Yunho rushed into his high rise and again dashed past the front desk for the elevators. He clicked the up button rapidly till the elevator doors slid open with a “Ding!” The digital voice, like always informed him, “going up.” He started shaking one of his legs impatiently with his eyes focused deeply at the digital display above the elevator door. “17… 18… 19… 20…” he mumbled to himself and at last the elevator finally informed, “twentieth floor.” He ran out and darted for his apartment, keys already in hand and within seconds he had gotten into his home. He could hear his mother in his bedroom and so without even thinking he breathlessly jogged his way in. “Mom?” Mrs.Jeong had the kitten resting in her arms and once Yunho saw this his back slouched in disappointment. Tired from all of the running he did, Yunho sat himself down next to his mom and patted San on his little head. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Yunho was actually surprised that his mothers hands were free from any scratches and chuckled, “You play favorites huh?” He poked one of San’s paws with a pointer finger and the small blob grabbed the finger with both of his front paws to chew on it. Mrs.Jeong giggled and muttered, “He shifted back really quickly, once he woke up he just looked at me and crawled into the comforter.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The two of them chatted for some time before Mrs.Jeong headed home. After waving bye to his mother, Yunho walked back to his bedroom and kneeled in front of the bed. San who was laying on the white sheets pawed his way to Yunho, reaching his paws out he patted the olders face lightly. The pillar was still quite disappointed because he really wanted to see how San looked when he changed forms, “Sannie you’re making me jealous now… You let my mom hold you with no problem but you clawed my hands raw…” Yunho brought his hands out and rubbed the kittens face gently before trailing it down to a caress on the blobs back. San mewed weakly and rubbed his head into Yunho’s opened palms and smiled, “is this your way of saying sorry?” The small kitten again mewed while still rubbing his head into Yunho. This seemed to have made the large male happier because he pulled the tiny body in and gave him a tight squeeze, “ah you’re so cute… did you sleep in the bed yesterday too? You know you can just sleep there, cat or not I don’t mind.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>During the evening, Yunho sat on his living room couch with San on his lap and made a call to Hongjoong to apologize about what had happened earlier. He mentioned how he got a call from his mom mentioning how San shifted forms. The blond on the other end chuckled and sympathized with him letting him know that it was fine. The two of them started small talking before Yunho heard Seonghwa on the other end, the gray hybrids voice was muffled since he wasn’t close to the call but the pillar could make out a, “Who’s that?” Hongjoong puts Yunho on speaker and replied, “It’s Yunho, say hi.” Seonghwa walked over to the call and instead of talking gave a meow. This seemed to have triggered something in the small creature on Yunho’s lap because instantly San mewed back. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Seonghwa could be heard chuckling at this and spoke up, “He doesn’t seem to like me.” Yunho caressed San swiftly and replied back, “He gets jealous easily, he didn’t like when I came home with scents of other cats.” The three of them had a small laugh at this but San didn’t look like he liked what was being said about him so he tried climbing up the arm in which Yunho held the phone. Seeing this, the taller told the others, “Well I should probably go, Sannie is trying to attack the phone.” They all said their goodbyes and Yunho dropped his phone down onto the couch and picked San who was dangling from his arms up, “oh don’t pout, getting jealous isn’t an insult you know… plus you being jealous means you really like me so I’m happy about it.” He stroked the small creature in his arms and then remembered. The small blob enjoyed eating fruits but he needed to let him know how he couldn’t always have them since his body won't take it well. Therefore he held San up by his underarms and lifted him up and mumbled, “So you know… you can’t eat too much fruit since it’s rich in sugar… My mom brought peaches and you would need to wait a while before eating them since your little body can’t have it right after the strawberries and grapes you had recently.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It was almost instant but San squirmed in Yunho’s arms and mewed before suddenly shifting. It was like a gush of air had hit the larger male in the face. Shocked at the boy now in his arms but even more shocked at how San shifted just because of the denial in fruits. The boy’s frame would be described as thin and not only that but what caught Yunho’s eyes was the fading bruises planted over his stomach. The pillar placed the nude hybrid onto his lap and trailed his fingers across San’s abdomen. Yunho looked at the boy’s eyes and questioned, “What happened?” The cat hybrid was small and fragile and was also reluctant to answer the question being asked. Looking away from the male in front of him San only pouted. Yunho was worried yet excited by the smaller, “ok fine but is this why you didn’t like belly rubs?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The fragile frame shifted on Yunho’s lap and started to play with his own fingers while nodding gently. The male sighed and stood up with the boy in his arms, “Ok, why don’t we get you some clothes since you’re just… naked.” The taller didn’t say anything about this but he took a mental note that the body in his arms was considerably light. As Yunho started to walk for his room San uttered, “But fruit?” His voice was soft, silky and light, the definition of gentle. The taller looked at the younger happily but also furrowed his brows slightly. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Is his speech limited?</span>
  </em>
  <span> “Why don’t you let me know why I should give you the fruit?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>San scrunched his face and sulked but was driven to convince the other. Still being in Yunho’s arms, the boy started, “mm.. I take human form so I eat fruit?” What was supposed to be a statement came out as an unsure question but seeing how hard his little friend was trying Yunho smiled and nodded, “Alright, alright, we’ll get you changed and then we can eat, ah how long can you stay like this?” Yunho knew the answer to this because they did have multiple hybrids in their shop, they could stay like that for as long as they liked but he just wanted to hear the younger speak. The boy shifted in Yunho’s arms to have a better look at the male and looked unsure, “I don’t know, this… this my third… third time? Is that right?” Smiling at the question San had asked, Yunho ran his free hand through the hybrid's hair, “It’s great! Though you can add ‘is’ to the sentence such as ‘this is my third time.’” The boy nods and rests his head between Yunho’s shoulder and neck and repeats after the male, “This...is my third time?” Humming at this the two of them made their way to the male’s closet, “They’re gonna be quite big on you but it's better than nothing right? I honestly thought you’d be around Seonghwa’s size but I thought wrong…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>San’s cat ears perked at the sound of Seonghwa’s name and bit down onto Yunho’s neck earning him a small yelp, “ouch what was that for?” The smaller boy in his arms looked down at him and pouted, “I’m ok. I’m ok size.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Yunho sighed and rubbed the boy's cheeks, “I’m not complaining about your size, your size is just fine. Plus if you’re like Seonghwa I won't be able to carry you like this. Ok now lets see… Do you like hoodies?” San looked around the closet and pointed out to the bedroom, the large figure with the hybrid in his arms followed towards the direction till he was in front of his bed which was not remade from when San slept there earlier. The kitten pointed into the comforter and Yunho was confused, “You want to wear the comforter?” Small as he was, San formed a ‘What the fuck?’ look on his face and shook his head before muttering, “No, white sweater you gave me.” An ‘o’ formed on Yunho’s face as he pulled the comforter up with his free hand. The sweater camouflaged into the white bedding and comforter but soon showed up. The larger frame sat down onto his bed with San now on his lap. He took the sweater from the bed and ordered, “Ok lift your arms up.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The sweater had absorbed the small body and this was to be expected because the piece was meant to look large even on Yunho’s body. The raven haired male plopped San onto his bed and spoke up, “I’ll go find you some briefs and pants.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Yunho had dug through many pairs of underpants and pants while having San try them all with no luck. The younger’s body was just so small that the pants would simply slip off but luckily the sweater was large enough to cover everything that needed covering. Though he was happy that San was comfortable enough around him to shift forms, he was also filled with questions. Hybrids even younger than him usually have perfect speech because they’d pick it up from those around them and also the bruises on his stomach raised more questions.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I know there’s not much progress yet but please be patient with me ;;</p></blockquote></div></div>
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